Let the Grand Slam talk gain momentum. Load up the private jet. It’s onward to Muirfield and the British Open for the third leg of the Slam.

The 102nd U.S. Open, with two rounds still to be completed, is competitively over.

With respect to Irishman Padraig Harrington, who made a strong late-day charge up the leaderboard, nobody’s going to catch Tiger Woods, who followed his opening-round 67 with a 68 yesterday to stand at 5-under par.

Woods enters today’s third round with a three-shot lead over Harrington, his nearest competitor.

Despite a steady, all-day, driving rain that left almost everyone else in the field soaking wet with broken spirits and high scores, Woods navigated his way around Bethpage Black as if God was holding an umbrella over him.

“It’s not like we’re having the awards presentation today,” Woods said. “I’ve still got to play 36 more holes.”

Despite Woods’ politically correct assessment, the bad news for the rest of the field, not including the fact that rain is forecast for the rest of the weekend, is that he does not lose leads.

Woods with a tournament lead is more money than Mariano Rivera with two out in the ninth and up by a run.

Woods has won 14 of 17 tournaments when he’s held the halfway lead. At majors, he’s 4-0 when leading through two rounds. He’s won 23 of 25 tournaments when he’s entered the final round with the lead. At majors, he’s 7-0.

En route to winning the 2000 U.S. Open by 15 shots, Woods entered the second round with a six-shot lead and ran away.

“I don’t think anybody can beat him even if they were tied,” Rocco Mediate said.

“Tiger must be playing some amazing golf,” Jesper Parnevik said. “If he posts sub-par rounds every day he’s going to win by at least 10 shots.”

Darren Clarke, who played the first two rounds with Woods, said, “He’s played fabulous for two days. If he keeps playing like this, I don’t see anyone catching him.”

Added Nick Faldo: “We all know the guy is awesome. He’s a different golfer than the rest of us.”

Not only does Woods not back up to the field, but making up strokes on the diabolical U.S. Open course setups is like trying to hit Randy Johnson with a fungo bat.

“It’s going to be difficult, there’s no doubt about it,” Woods conceded. “In any U.S. Open, it’s always going to be difficult to make up shots, because it’s not easy to make birdies. Sometimes, par is a good score. And this golf course is getting to where par is a good score.”

Woods completed his second round exactly the way he finished Thursday, draining a long putt for birdie, serving as an exclamation point to his dominance.

“He plays a different game from me,” said Chris DiMarco, who played the first two rounds with Woods. “And the longer you make the golf course, the more it plays into his hands.”

That was a lament of many in the field as they staggered into the players’ locker room.

“I’m glad to be leaving,” Paul Azinger said after shooting an 82 yesterday. “I’m glad to not be on the cut number. When I came here, I was asked if I’d sleep overnight in my car to play this course and I said, ‘Yeah.’

“I’ll tell you this now: I won’t be sleeping in my car to play this course, Bubba. I’ve seen enough.”